All that Glitters is Not Gold
by Gaming Fractal
Summary: A story about daycare woes.


All that Glitters is Not Gold

Summary: A story about daycare woes

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except this story

* * *

"Nishimura, can I have a word?" The teen known as Nishimura Kei looked up to see his employer, Kurumamori Jun'ichiro by the entrance to the staff room. Kei inwardly flinched, wondering if he had somehow messed up. But nothing came to mind. As if sensing the other's sudden nervousness, the older man raised his hands in a placating manner. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble in anything." Jun'ichiro reassured, causing Kei to relax slightly.

"I know that you just got here. But Lilac called, he won't be able to come to work today because he's down with a cold." The older man informed before looking at Kei with a concerned expression. "Will you be alright all by yourself for the next shift? If you want I can stay here to help..." The man offered but Kei immediately shook his head. "Thanks for the offer Kurumamori-san, but I think I'll be able to manage." He answered.

"It won't be the first time I've handled a shift by myself, and besides it'll only be for today… So Kurumamori-san doesn't need to worry about me and should go to the Breeder's Seminar in Eterna city."

* * *

"If something comes up you can call me or your co-workers… Oh! And the extra snacks are in the cupboard." Jun'ichiro's face then turned thoughtful as he tried to remember other last minute reminders. "The keys! Did I…" Before the older male could even finish asking, Kei interjected. "Don't worry, Kurumamori-san, the keys are with me." The teen said before fishing out a set of keys from his pocket. Jun'ichiro nodded. "Looks like you're all set."

"Well, I better leave now, if I want to make it to the seminar on time." Jun'ichiro said as he opened the car door. "I'll leave the daycare in your hands." Jun'ichiro told him, and Kei nodded. "Have a safe trip, Kurumamori-san." He told the older male and Jun'ichiro thanked the teen before mounting the vehicle and driving off.

* * *

"Let's see… As of now there are ten pokemon in the daycare." Kei said before looking up from the memo pad. Ten Pokemon weren't too bad, he thought to himself before opening the door that led to the yard. But mere seconds later, he is already starting to panic. There were supposed to be ten Pokemon in the yard but he could only see three. Kei immediately looked down at the memo pad in his hands before looking back up.

"Carnivine, check. Chatot, check. Remoraid…" One glance was enough to see that the water type was happily swimming in the man-made pond. "Check… That's three down, now where's the rest?" Right after the words left his lips, he immediately heard a loud cry before a snickering Vulpix with black and white fur suddenly ran to the yard from the side of the building chased by an angry looking Sandslash with an orange underside, white underbelly, and black quills.

It took a moment for him to recover from the sight before he looked down at the list in his hands. "Two down, five more to go."

* * *

Fortunately enough for Kei, he was able to find the remaining five with only a little difficulty. It turned out two of the missing Pokemon, a Luxray and a black Crobat with a red colored underside were seeking shade by the side of the building, both of them napping. The next Pokemon he found was a black Serperior balancing what looked to be a paper bag with a face, on the top of its head. The said pokemon seemed to be content lying down among the tall grass that grew by the pond.

A few minutes after finding Serperior, Kei found Absol which had a violet body covered in black fur resting behind one of the large rocks scattered around the yard. The last missing Pokemon, a black and pink Butterfree was found to be sunbathing within the thicket. All in all it took him fifteen minutes to find the missing Pokemon, and he couldn't hide his relief once they were all accounted for.

* * *

Kei, upon finding all the missing Pokemon marveled at the fact that most of them were Shiny Pokemon. Truth be told, this was the first time he had ever seen a shiny Pokemon. But the fact that a group of shiny Pokemon were currently in the daycare completely thrilled him. He may not have been a shiny collector, but he liked seeing the elusive shiny Pokemon like any other trainer. In actuality, he had been a bit jealous of his co-workers who had already seen/taken care of several shiny Pokemon while working at the daycare.

But now it was his turn, and with that in mind, Kei was determined to shake off the bad start and do his job well.

* * *

Unfortunately, that enthusiasm of his was cruelly dashed a mere five minutes later. Kei was quick to learn that it was best not to leave the Vulpix unsupervised because it was quick to pull pranks on the other Pokemon, which included hurling embers and stealing Serperior's paper bag. On the topic of the grass type, Serperior was for the most part well behaved and quiet. Serperior didn't really interact with the other Pokemon, choosing to spend its time between sunbathing and slithering in the tall grass.

But apparently the paper bag on its head was important to it, because once it was stolen by the Vulpix, that same quiet Serperior started firing leech seeds in rapid succession to try and catch the fire type. In mere minutes, the yard was covered in dangerous leech seed plants. Eventually peace was restored when the Vulpix grew bored of having to dodge the leech seeds and chose to return the paper bag to the grass type.

But as soon as things settled down Kei immediately went back inside to grab several Pokemon toys with the hopes that they'd keep the Vulpix occupied for the rest of the day. But after five minutes of playing with one toy, the Vulpix seemed to grow bored with it and moved on to the next toy. As Kei carefully removes the leech seed plants from the yard, he earnestly hopes that the toys would last at least until lunch time.

* * *

The Absol had eventually moved to settle under a tree and had a cool gaze as it kept an eye on the yard. But after a while the dark type decided to roam around, which wasn't a problem by itself. The problem started when the Absol got too close to the Butterfree, which seemed to spook the bug type for some reason. But that confused Kei because shouldn't bug types have the advantage over dark types? But the gentle Butterfree was apparently so spooked that it began to fly in a frenzy.

But while Kei was in the midst of trying to calm the Pokemon, the Crobat suddenly joined in. The poison type probably thought that the Butterfree was playing some sort of game and started flying all over the yard as well. It took ten minutes to get both Pokemon under control and the task left Kei panting and sweating. The teen then made a note to self not to let the Absol get near the Butterfree again.

* * *

Lunch time was a wonderful time, Kei learned because for a good thirty minutes, the Pokemon were completely quiet and behaved while they were eating the Pokechow he set out for them. The Luxray was a bit of a special case though. When he was going to give the electric type its lunch, he found the Pokemon was still asleep. So Kei decided to leave the bowl filled with chow near the Luxray before going on to give the other Pokemon their food.

After he finished distributing the food, he returned to check on the Luxray. But he found the bowl empty, with the electric type asleep in a slightly different location. But Kei had no time to ponder about that as Carnivine and Chatot's respective trainers arrived to retrieve them.

* * *

Shortly after finishing their meals the shiny Pokemon decided to take a page out of the Luxray's book and decided to take a nap. But what surprised Kei was that the shiny Pokemon all decided to take a nap by the slumbering Luxray. With practiced ease, the shiny Pokemon all settled near the electric type. The Sandslash curled into a ball by the Luxray's side while the Vulpix settled on the gleam eye Pokemon's other side.

The Butterfree perched on the Luxray's back, while the Crobat settled by the Luxray's head. The last two, Serperior and Absol while not as close to the Luxray as the others, nevertheless took up spots close to the electric type. Kei was equal parts fascinated and equal parts relieved that he could finally take a breather.

* * *

The Sandslash was an active one. If it wasn't exploring, clashing with Vulpix or playing with Crobat, it was trying to wake the sleeping Luxray. Though, the latter attempts usually resulted in the electric type merely shifting a bit in its sleep. However as it turned out, the Sandslash probably liked pranking as much as the Vulpix, because upon finding that it was the first to wake from the nap the ground type used Round of all things. The effect was immediate.

The other Pokemon was startled awake, with some of them giving chase to the smug looking Sandslash. The end result of that chase wasn't pretty. Some of the Pokemon needed to be patched up, but that wasn't all. The yard was covered with holes that needed to be filled up later on, large gashes were left on the trees and rocks, not to mention the occasional scorch mark here and there. All in all, not something Kei wanted to explain to his boss. Kei glumly looked at the clock, which read a little past three. He sighed. This was going to be the longest two and a half hours of his life.

* * *

But after an eventful two hours that Kei would much rather not remember, the time for the Pokemon to be picked up finally neared. As per normal daycare procedure, he began moving the Pokemon who were going to be picked up soon into the daycare building. While there were some Pokemon that went inside the room without fuss, others were more interested in giving him the run around or preferred to not move from their spots.

In desperation, he tried to bribe the Pokemon inside with some snacks. By some miracle, it worked. Upon seeing the poffins, the Pokemon pounced on them, and even the Luxray willingly got up from its spot and went inside to get more of the promised treats. But once the task of getting them inside was accomplished, Kei was beyond exhausted. He looked up at the wall clock that read five twenty six. He hoped the trainers would arrive soon.

* * *

It is at exactly five thirty one pm when someone arrives at the daycare. The new arrival is a good looking blonde wearing cowboy clothes with a small doll perched on his shoulder. To say that the young man had a unique look was an understatement. But Kei greets him politely all the same, secretly hoping that he was there to pick up one of the Pokemon. The man doesn't fail him. "Hello there lad, I'm here to pick up my Pokemon." He says, and Kei does a mental fist pump.

"Certainly, may I have your name, and which Pokemon you have left with us?" Kei asks as he grabs a clipboard on the front desk. "It's Arisuin Mikuni, and the Pokemon I left wit- Oh, Jeje there you are." Kei shrieks a little upon the Serperior's sudden appearance behind him, but the grass type merely continues to slither forward until it was directly in front of its trainer, separated only by the front desk.

The young man known as Mikuni places his hands on the Serperior's head. "Jeje did you miss me?" Mikuni coos. In turn, an irate look appears on the grass type's face. But Kei notes how the Serperior makes no move to break free from its trainer's hold. "Aww, you don't even have to say it, Jeje. I already know you missed me." He says before dodging a leech seed the Serperior fired at him. Mikuni laughs before turning back to him. "So lad, about that exit form..."

* * *

The door opens and two people enter the daycare, and in Kei's opinion, they are an odd looking pair. One of them was a short, frail looking pretty boy with dark purple hair, while his companion was a tall and muscular blonde. "Good afternoon, how may I help you two?" Kei greets, but the purple haired harrumphs before answering. "We are here to retrieve our Pokemon." Kei nods before picking up the clip board again. "May I please have your names?" Kei asks and this time it is the blonde who answers.

"I'm Sendagaya Tetsu, and this one is Arisuin Misono." Tetsu answers which causes Misono to fume. "Oi! Sendagaya I can introduce myself!" "Ah yes. Sendagaya-san, Arisuin-san, please sign this exit form and I'll be back with your Pokemon shortly." Kei said as he set the clipboard with the forms down on the desk. "There is no need for you to fetch our Pokemon." Misono suddenly spoke.

"What do yo-" Kei stopped mid-sentence once he saw the Butterfree land on Misono's shoulder while Crobat perched on Tetsu's head. "Wha? But they were just?!" Kei spluttered. "Lily, I trust you have been on your best behavior." Misono states as the Butterfree gives out a happy cry. "Hugh, let's hurry back home. Tonight's the Pokerangers movie marathon." The blonde says, which elicits animated chatter from the Crobat.

* * *

Minutes after the pair left, another person enters the daycare. But quite frankly, Kei didn't know what to make of the new arrival. The teen had mostly black hair with a streak of white hair, looked irritated for some reason, and was wearing a backpack with wings of all things. Once the new arrival zeroed in on Kei, his eyes morphed into a frightening glare. Kei gulped nervously, wondering what he had done to deserve such hostility. "Hey, that thing's here isn't it? That demon." The teen spat out, and Kei couldn't be more confused. "S-sir wha?" He stuttered.

But before Kei worked up the courage to finish his question, an orange blur launched itself at the black haired teen, which said teen promptly dodged. As it turns out that orange blur was actually Sandslash, who after recovering from the failed assault continued gunning after the teen with its claws out. On his part, the teen merely continued to dodge agilely. But after dodging a particularly vicious metal claw, the teen began to speak as he straightened up from where he stood. "That's enough shitty Hyde. Let's go back."

"Kranz told me I needed to return with you if I wanted to have some melon later." The Sandslash then adopted a more relaxed stance before following the teen out. "Wait! T-that Pokemon!" Kei croaked and the other teen stopped to look back at him. "No need to worry. It's my job to purify this demon." He said which only confused Kei even more. But it seemed that the other teen wasn't finished yet. "Why you ask? ...It's because I am an angel." The teen said with absolutely no hesitation and even did a pose. But as if that wasn't crazy enough, the Sandslash joined in and was gesturing towards the teen.

At that Kei didn't know what to think.

* * *

Still reeling from the last person, Kei hadn't even noticed that another person entered the daycare until said person was in front of him and suddenly screamed. "Wha?!" Kei stumbled back in fright and fell back on his butt. A moment later the other male began laughing, and Kei glared daggers as he slowly got up. "May I help you?" Kei grit out with forced politeness, and the other immediately raised his hands in a placating manner.

"Sorry man, but I just couldn't help it. You were so out of it." He said before continuing. "But I didn't think you'd be that spooked. If I really offended you, I apologize." He said, and Kei had to admit that he was also at fault as he should've been paying attention as well. "Apology accepted. Now how may I-" Kei wasn't able to finish as he felt something land on his shoulder before that same thing jumped on the desk. That something turned out to be a snickering Vulpix who then jumped towards the green haired teen's shoulder.

"Sorry, Tsubaki-san probably caused a lot of problems today." The green haired teen said bluntly, and one look at the green haired teen's face was more than enough for Kei to know that the other knew exactly what he was talking about. Kei shuddered at the thought, he only took care of the Vulpix for a few hours but the teen in front of him was the fire type's trainer. There was no doubt the teen in front of him knew what suffering really was.

* * *

After the same thing happening five times, Kei expected that once their respective trainer arrives, the Pokemon would go over as well. But even without its trainer arriving, the Absol went over to the reception area of the daycare. The dark type merely sat in front of the desk, keeping its gaze forward as if it was waiting for something. Mere minutes later, a young man with black hair and gold eyes decked in all white entered the Daycare.

"Sorry Ringo-neesan, work took a bit longer than I thought!" The young man said as he moved towards the Absol who met him halfway. The young man kneeled on one knee before petting the dark type. "But on the plus side I got a bonus! Now let's go home and have some dinner!" The young man then turned to Kei. "Thanks for taking care of Nee-san today young man." He said before getting up, about to leave when the Absol stopped him.

"Nee-san? Oh right! I forgot I have to fill in the exit form or Jun-chan will get mad at me!"

* * *

After briefly checking up on Remoraid, Kei headed back inside and found Luxray awake, and was currently lounging. Now that Kei thinks about it, aside from trying to get the Luxray to get inside, this was the first time he got to see it while it was up. But upon closer inspection of the electric type, Kei realizes something. "So you were a shiny Pokemon as well?" He never realized it as the Luxray was always curled up asleep, and even when he was trying to lead it inside he probably didn't notice because of how frantic he was.

Up close though, it was easy to tell that unlike other Luxray, this Luxray's face, hind legs, torso, and the back of its front legs were a silvery blue instead. The fact that it was a shiny Pokemon was less obvious than the others, and you probably wouldn't be able to tell unless you got up close. Just then, the Luxray's ears twitched before it suddenly shot forward with speed that Kei has never seen before from the electric type. The Luxray ran through the open doorway which leads to the reception area. Kei, while baffled at the sudden actions, immediately went after the Gleam Eyes Pokemon.

A surprised cry was heard, and by the time Kei arrived at the scene, he saw that Luxray had already tackled someone down. "Oh my Arceus! Are you alright?" Kei said as he rushed over but the brown haired teen merely laughed it off. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm already used to Kuro's tackles." He answered before he slowly sat up. Kei breathed a sigh of relief at the words before he realized something. "…Wait a second, just now you called this Luxray, Kuro… Could you be…?"

In turn the other teen merely nodded. "Yeah, I'm this lazy Pokemon's trainer. I'm Shirota Mahiru by the way." The teen known as Mahiru then got up. "So about the exit form?" He prompted. "Y-yes! Of course" Kei said as he hurriedly went back behind the desk to prepare the form. As Mahiru began to write on the document, Kuro let out a few cries. In turn, Mahiru let out a small sigh. "Fine but only one. The rest will have to wait until after dinner." Mahiru said trying to sound stern, but his tone betrayed fondness. The brown haired teen then got a poffin from his backpack which the Luxray happily munched on.

* * *

"What, so yesterday you took care of that group of shiny Pokemon by yourself?" Lilac asks with wide eyes, and to answer, Kei nods. "Yeah. Half the time I just wanted to tear my hair out in frustration." Kei answers with a deep sigh which causes Lilac to tilt his head in confusion. "Wait could it be that you didn't use the poffins?" This time it's Kei turn to be confused. "Poffins? What's that got to do with anything?" He asks and Lilac gasps.

"Oh my Arceus! Did no one tell you? That group of shiny Pokemon is famous for being troublemakers, to the point that if all of them were checked in the daycare, the boss ensures there are at least three workers to watch them." The smaller male says. "What did you say?!" Kei screeched causing Lilac to flinch. "Or at least that's how things used to be." Lilac said in a placating manner before hastily explaining.

"You see, even that group of shiny Pokemon has a weakness for the poffins we use in the daycare. So as long as the cupboards are stocked with those poffins even one worker can manage that bunch until its time for them to get picked up by their respective trainers." At that moment Kei just wanted to bang his head on the wall. To think that all this time, the key to making those Pokemon behave was just under his nose- or rather in the cupboard.

Kei was just so done.

* * *

Omake

Kei: Are those shiny Pokemon always checked in at the daycare together?

Lilac: Most of the time. Their trainers are friends with each other you see.

Kei: Is that so? Wait now that I think about it, that does makes sense considering they were close enough to nap together.

Lilac: Oh that might have to do more with the fact that those shiny Pokemon are actually siblings.

Kei:…What?! How?!

Lilac: I'm not sure about the details… But I did hear a rumor that they share a parent-supposedly a legendary shiny ditto, or something along that line…

Kei:…

Lilac: Oh by the way, you haven't met all of the shiny siblings yet.

Kei: There's still more of them?!

Lilac: Just one more, a shiny Pignite. But don't worry you'll meet it soon enough. In fact that Pignite is going to be checked in tom.

Kei: GIVE ME A BREAK!

* * *

Omake 2

Koyuki: Mahiru-kun you sure made a lot of poffins.

Mahiru: Yeah, this batch is for the daycare. They should be running low by now.

Ryusei: You do know that you don't have to make poffins for the daycare right? I mean aside from getting money for the ingredients, you don't even get paid for making them.

Mahiru: Well they lost their supplier, and I can make Poffins. Thinking simply, shouldn't I help them?

Ryusei: Ah there it is. The thinking simply. But I guess if you're alright with it, then it's fine.

Mahiru: …Besides, it's my way of thanking them for taking care of Kuro and the others from time to time. I know its part of their job and all, but still.

Kuro: Luux~

Koyuki: That sounds just like you, Mahiru-kun. Oh! Now that I think about it, its not true that Mahiru-kun's poffins are uncompensated. I mean Kurumamori-san gives you all a discount right?

Mahiru: That's right, he gives us a dis- wait, it's already this late? I better get going to the daycare, I promised Lilac that I'd deliver these Poffins before lunch. See you two! Come on Kuro, let's go.

Kuro: Ray, Ray.

Koyuki: …Should we tell him that the daycare depends solely on his poffins to keep Kuro and the others in line?

Ryusei: Nah, ignorance is bliss.

* * *

Omake 3

Sakuya: Seriously Mahiru. You spoil your Pokemon too much.

Mahiru: Really? I think I'm pretty strict with Kuro.

Kuro: Ray.

Sakuya: Right. Say that when Kuro's not eating poffins on your lap while you're brushing its fur.

Mahiru:...

Mahiru:...I guess I do spoil Kuro.

Sakuya: Yes you do, Mahiru. But that's no good. You gotta learn to be strict with them or they'll just do whatever they want all the time.

Mahiru: What do you think I should do then, Sakuya?

Sakuya: Well for starters, you could cut back on the treats. That said, let's take this plate of poffins away...

Kuro:Lux!?

Mahiru: Kuro!? What are you doing, let go of Sakuya! No, don't use your Thunder Fang!

Mahiru: Sakuya! Hurry and drop that plate! Kuro, don't use Crunch either!

* * *

A/N as Wrath is still unnamed, so I just went with Ringo.


End file.
